Life of Charles Darwin Part 4

At Down the family in time numbered nine children, two, however, not surviving childhood; one died in 1842, another in 1858. His five sons have already attained distinction or positions of influence. The eldest, William Erasmus, became a banker in Southampton; the second, George, was second Wrangler and Smith's Prizeman at Cambridge in 1868, became a Fellow of Trinity, and is now Plumian Professor of Astronomy at his university, having early gained the Fellows.h.i.+p of the Royal Society for his original papers bearing on the evolution of the universe and the solar system, and many other subjects of high mathematical and philosophical interest. His third son, Francis, gained first-cla.s.s honours in the Cambridge Natural Science Tripos in 1870, and is likewise a Fellow of the Royal Society, in recognition of his original botanical investigations. The fourth, Leonard, an officer in the Royal Engineers, has done valuable astronomical work. The fifth, Horace, has devoted himself to mechanical science, and has largely aided in developing the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company.

The great thinker, fulfilling his duties as head of a family with singular success, charged with the burden of new thoughts and observations, slowly perfecting his life work, had neither time nor inclination for controversy. He set himself to publish facts, which by their acc.u.mulation tended to clench his arguments. Soon after the "Origin of Species" he had in course of publication several important botanical papers, on the two forms of flower in the Primrose genus (1862), and in the genus Linum (flax), 1863, on the forms of Loosestrife, 1864, all published in the Linnean Society's Journal.

In 1862 he brought out his first botanical book, the "Fertilisation of Orchids," more fully ent.i.tled, "On the various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilised by Insects." These most singular flowers had long attracted great attention owing to their peculiar shapes and often their great beauty, while their marked deviation from typical forms of flowers perplexed botanists extremely. The celebrated Robert Brown, in a well-known paper in the Linnean Society's Transactions, 1833, expressed the belief that insects are necessary for the fructification of most orchids; and as far back as 1793, Christian Sprengel (in "The Newly Discovered Secret of Nature") gave an excellent account of the action of the several parts in the genus Orchis, having discovered that insects were necessary to remove the pollen ma.s.ses. But the _rationale_ of the process was not fully known until Darwin revealed it, and illuminated it by the light of natural selection. He had, in the "Origin of Species,"

given reasons for the belief that it is an almost universal law of nature that the higher organic beings require an occasional cross with another individual. He here emphasised that doctrine by a series of proofs from a peculiar and otherwise inexplicable order of plants, and showed that the arrangements by which orchids are fertilised have for their main object the fertilisation of the flowers with pollen brought by insects from a distinct plant.

In the group to which our common orchids belong, remarkable adaptations for securing that the pollen ma.s.ses brought from another flower solely through the visits of insects shall reach their precise destination, were brought to light. "A poet," says Darwin, "might imagine that whilst the pollinia were borne through the air from flower to flower, adhering to an insect's body, they voluntarily and eagerly placed themselves in that exact position in which alone they could hope to gain their wish and perpetuate their race." As he had examined all the British genera, Darwin's conclusions were indubitable. He had patiently watched for hours on the gra.s.s to notice insects' visits, had counted the fertilised flowers on many spikes, the fertilised spikes on many plants, had dissected and redissected the flowers till he saw how the fertilisation must absolutely be effected; and utilising the enthusiasm of orchid growers, had excited them to do the same, till his storehouse of facts was full.

On examining the exotic forms of orchids, which are so conspicuous in our conservatories, still more striking facts presented themselves. In the great group of the Vandeae, relative position of parts, friction, viscidity, elastic and hygrometric movements were all found to be nicely related to one end--the aid of insects in fertilisation. Without their aid not a plant in the various species of twenty-nine genera which Darwin examined would set a seed. In the majority of cases insects withdraw the pollen ma.s.ses only when retreating from the flower, and, continuing their flower visits, effect a union between two flowers, generally on distinct plants. In many cases the pollen ma.s.ses slowly change their position while adhering to the insects, and so a.s.sume a proper direction for striking the stigma of another flower, and the insects during this interval will almost certainly have flown from one plant to another.

The family to which Catasetum belongs furnished the most remarkable examples. This plant possesses a special sensitiveness in certain parts, and when definite points of the flower are touched by an insect the pollen ma.s.ses are shot forth like an arrow, the point being blunt and adhesive. The insect, disturbed by so sharp a blow, or having eaten its fill, flies sooner or later to a female plant, and whilst standing in the same position as before, the pollen-bearing end of the arrow is inserted into the stigmatic cavity, and a ma.s.s of pollen is left on its viscid surface. The strange structures of Cypripedium, or the Lady's Slipper, were then a.n.a.lysed, and the mode of fertilisation by small bees was discovered. The whole structure of orchids, as modified to secure insects' visits and cross fertilisation, was now expounded, and the benefits shown by cases where insects' visits were prevented, and no seed was set. The number of seeds in a capsule was reckoned, and thence it was found that the progeny of a single plant of the common orchis would suffice to cover the globe in the fourth generation. A single plant of another orchid might bear seventy-four millions of seeds: surely an ample provision for a struggle for existence, and selection and survival of the fittest. But, as Darwin remarks, profuse expenditure is nothing unusual in nature, and it appears to be more profitable for a plant to yield a few cross-fertilised than many self-fertilised seeds.

Darwin impresses forcibly on his readers the endless diversity of structures, and the prodigality of resources displayed for gaining the same end, the fertilisation of one flower by pollen from another plant.

"The more I study nature," he says, "the more I become impressed with ever-increasing force that the contrivances and beautiful adaptations slowly acquired through each part occasionally varying in a slight degree ... transcend in an incomparable manner the contrivances and adaptations which the most fertile imagination of man could invent."

Finally he concludes: "It is hardly an exaggeration to say that nature tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors perpetual self-fertilisation"; and thus was announced a new doctrine in botany. A second much-improved edition of this book appeared in 1877.

In 1864, in presenting the Copley medal of the Royal Society to the author of the "Origin of Species," Major-General Sabine, the President, entered into a full description of the merits of his works, "stamped throughout with the impress of the closest attention to minute details and accuracy of observation, combined with large powers of generalisation." The award, while highly eulogising the "Origin," was not however based upon it, but on the more recent botanical writings.

"The Fertilisation of Orchids" was described as perhaps the most masterly treatise on any branch of vegetable physiology that had ever appeared; and the fact was justly emphasised that all Darwin's botanical discoveries had been obtained by the study of some of the most familiar and conspicuous of our native plants, and some of the best-known and easily-procured cultivated exotics.

In 1865 appeared another work from the Darwinian treasury, but in this case it was at first restricted to the Journal of the Linnean Society (vol. ix.), and was not made generally available till the second edition was published separately in 1875. "The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants" described in the first place the twining of the hop plant, studied by night and day continuously, in a well-warmed room, to which the author was confined by illness. Again and again were different species of plants watched, and the periods in which their shoots revolved noted. The clematises, tropaeolums, solanums, gloriosa lilies among leaf-climbing plants; the bignonias, cobaeas, bryonies, vines, pa.s.sion flowers, and other tendril-bearing plants; the ivy, and other root and hook climbers were carefully studied; and botanists for the first time realised fully the advantages which climbing plants possess in the struggle for existence. The climbing faculty depends on a sensitiveness to contact with any firm support, and a most interesting series of modifications has probably, as Darwin suggests, led to the present development of climbing organs, by the spontaneous movement of young shoots and other organs, and by unequal growth.

In concluding, the author made some most profoundly suggestive remarks, which went far to revolutionise our conception of plants. "It has often been vaguely a.s.serted that plants are distinguished from animals by not having the power of movement. It should rather be said that plants acquire and display this power only when it is of some advantage to them; this being of comparatively rare occurrence, as they are affixed to the ground, and food is brought to them by the air and rain. We see how high in the scale of organisation a plant may rise, when we look at one of the more perfect tendril-bearers. It first places its tendrils ready for action, as a polypus places its tentacula. If the tendril be displaced, it is acted on by the force of gravity, and rights itself. It is acted on by the light, and bends towards or from it, or disregards it, which ever may be most advantageous. During several days the tendrils, or internodes, or both, spontaneously revolve with a steady motion. The tendril strikes some object, and quickly curls round and firmly grasps it. In the course of some hours it contracts into a spire, dragging up the stem, and forming an excellent spring. All movements now cease. By growth the tissues soon become wonderfully strong and durable.

The tendril has done its work, and has done it in an admirable manner."

The labour of revising the successive editions of the "Origin of Species," together with prolonged ill-health, delayed the fulfilment of the promise given in that work, that the facts upon which it was based should be published. It was not till 1868 that the first instalment, "The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication," was given to the world, in two large volumes, with numerous ill.u.s.trations. The author's design was to discuss in a second work the variability of organic beings in a state of nature, and the conversion of varieties into species, the struggle for existence and the operation of natural selection, and the princ.i.p.al objections to the theory, including questions of instinct and hybridisation. In a third work it was intended to test the principle of natural selection by the extent to which it explains the geological succession of organic beings, their distribution in past and present times, and their mutual affinities and h.o.m.ologies.

The two latter works were never completed, in consequence of ill-health, and the labour involved in dealing with objections to and new facts in support of the "Origin," and of the other works which at various times it became important to complete. But many portions of these subjects were admirably dealt with by disciples. In some cases Darwin's views led to the rapid growth of a new science, such as that of comparative embryology, and it would not have been possible for him to cope with and interpret the mult.i.tude of new and astonis.h.i.+ng facts discovered, which changed the face of organic nature as viewed by biologists. By doing each day the work which seemed most necessary, and which he could best do, Darwin managed, in spite of his infirmity of const.i.tution, to complete a larger body of original work, both in experiment and in thought, together with a greater quant.i.ty of bibliographical study and collation of observed facts, than any Englishman perhaps has ever done.

The valuable book on "Variation" records and systematises a vast number of facts respecting all our princ.i.p.al domestic animals and cultivated plants. It gives evidence of wide reading, as well as great diligence in writing letters of inquiry to all living authorities who could give accurate information. Very many visits were paid to zoological gardens, breeders' establishments, nursery grounds, &c.; and the preparation of skulls, skins, &c., was a frequent occurrence in the Darwinian laboratory. To take the case of rabbits alone, which occupied but a fraction of the time devoted to pigeons: over twenty works are quoted for historical facts, skeletons of various rabbits were prepared and exhaustively compared, the effects of use and disuse of parts traced, most careful measurements are given, and a list of the modifications which domestic rabbits have undergone, with the probable causes, concludes the chapter. As to pigeons, no pigeon-fancier ought to be without the book, for never a.s.suredly was a sporting topic treated by so great a thinker and so admirably. The numerous experiments in crossing different breeds, and the results obtained, make this one of the most instructive books for all breeders. It would seem desirable that this portion of the book should be issued in a separate form. Again, when we turn to the sections on plants we see how indefatigable Darwin was, for he tells us that he cultivated fifty-four varieties of gooseberries alone, and compared them throughout in flower and fruit.

The chapters on Inheritance, and on Reversion to ancestral characters, or atavism, are profoundly suggestive. What can be more wonderful, the author asks, than that some trifling peculiarity should be transmitted through a long course of development, and ultimately reappear in the offspring when mature or even when old? Nevertheless, the real subject of surprise is not that a character should be inherited, but that any should ever fail to be inherited. Gradually leading up to the important hypothesis with which the work closes, he observes that to adequately explain the numerous characters that reappear after intervals of one or more generations, we must believe that a vast number of characters, capable of evolution, lie hidden in every organic being. "The fertilised germ of one of the higher animals, subjected as it is to so vast a series of changes from the germinal cell to old age--incessantly agitated by what Quatref.a.ges well calls the _tourbillon vital_--is perhaps the most wonderful object in nature. It is probable that hardly a change of any kind affects either parent, without some mark being left on the germ. But on the doctrine of reversion the germ becomes a far more marvellous object, for, besides the visible changes to which it is subjected, we must believe that it is crowded with invisible characters, proper to both s.e.xes, to both the right and left side of the body, and to a long line of male and female ancestors separated by hundreds or even thousands of generations from the present time; and these characters, like those written on paper with invisible ink, all lie ready to be evolved under certain known or unknown conditions."

Through a further discussion of many deeply interesting facts, about the intercrossing of breeds and species, and about the causes of variability, we pa.s.s to the hypothesis of pangenesis, which, briefly stated, supposes that the cells or units of the body are perpetually throwing off minute granules or gemmules, which acc.u.mulate in the reproductive system, and may, instead of developing in the next generation, be transmitted in a dormant state through more than one generation and then be developed. Combination in various degrees between these gemmules is supposed to influence their appearance or non-appearance in the offspring at various stages.

This hypothesis certainly gives a picture of a possible mode of accounting for many peculiarities shown by living organisms. Although not generally accepted, it has certainly not been disproved. Mr. Grant Allen's opinion that it is Darwin's "one conspicuous failure," and that it is "crude and essentially unphilosophic," must be discounted by his known devotion to Mr. Herbert Spencer's philosophy. If Darwin had been a specialist in modern physiology, he might, perhaps, have expressed his hypothesis in a more persuasive form; but Weismann's germ plasma theory is the only alternative one hitherto suggested in place of it.

CHAPTER VII.

Although the descent of man from animal ancestors was directly implied in the "Origin of Species," Darwin hesitated at the time of its publication to declare his views fully, believing that he would only thus augment and concentrate the prejudice with which his theory would be met. He had for many years held the views he afterwards expressed; but it was not until he had by his other works raised up a strong body of scientific opinion in favour of his great generalisation, that he fully presented his views on man to the public. The "Descent of Man" was studied as a special case of the application of his general principles, a test all the more severe because several cla.s.ses of argument were necessarily cut off, such as the nature of the affinities which connect together whole groups of organisms, their geographical distribution, and their geological succession. But adopting the high antiquity of man as demonstrated, he considered in detail the evidence as to man's descent from some pre-existing form, the manner of his development, and the value of the differences between the so-called races of man. No originality is claimed for the theory or for the facts advanced; but it may safely be affirmed that the master's acuteness, his moderation, his candour, and his desire to state facts which tell against him, are as conspicuous in the "Descent of Man" as in any of his works.

The "Descent of Man," which was published in 1871 in two volumes, with numerous ill.u.s.trations, began, after a short introduction, with a suggestive series of questions, which to the evolutionist suffice to decide the question as to man's origin. As the answers to these questions are obvious, Darwin first concentrated his inquiry upon two points on which disputes must necessarily occur, namely, the traces which man shows, in his bodily structure, of descent from some lower form, and the mental powers of man as compared with those of lower animals. The facts of our bodily structure are inexplicable on any other view than our community of descent with the quadrumana, unless structure is but a snare to delude our reason. It is only our natural prejudice, says Darwin, and that arrogance which made our fathers declare that they were descended from demiG.o.ds, which leads us to demur to this conclusion.

The comparison of the mental powers of animals with those of man, proving, as Darwin contends, that they therein also show traces of community of descent, was certain to provoke much more debate, for the term "instinct" and the use made of it by naturalists and psychologists as signifying untaught, unlearnt ability, largely tended to obscure the question, and to create prejudices against believing that instincts could be built up by inherited experience, that instincts were really not absolute and fixed, but relative and variable, and that all instincts were not perfect or perfectly useful. The working out of the evolution theory as applied to animal minds, the study of the first beginnings of nerve action, and the a.n.a.lysis of instinct, all due largely to Darwin's prominent disciple, Romanes, together with the immensely fuller knowledge of molecular physics, of protoplasm, and of brain function, acquired in the years since Darwin wrote, have sufficed to place these questions on a much more secure basis. But the collection of facts made by him, and the suggestive remarks he everywhere makes, render his book of permanent value. His sympathy is obvious in such pa.s.sages as this: "Every one has heard of the dog suffering under vivisection who licked the hand of the operator; this man, unless he had a heart of stone, must have felt remorse to the last hour of his life;"

the "terrible" superst.i.tions of the past, such as human sacrifices, trial by ordeal, &c., show us, he says, "what an indefinite debt of grat.i.tude we owe to the improvement of our reason, to science, and our acc.u.mulated knowledge." We see the fruit of Darwin's repeated visits to the Zoological Gardens, especially in his study of the habits and mental powers of monkeys. We gain a definition from him of imagination, by which faculty man "unites, independently of the will, former images and ideas, and thus creates brilliant and novel results.... The value of the products of our imagination depends of course on the number, accuracy, and clearness of our impressions; on our judgment and taste in selecting or rejecting the involuntary combinations, and to a certain extent on our power of voluntarily combining them." As to religion, he says, "There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the enn.o.bling belief in the existence of an omnipotent G.o.d." On the contrary, evidence proves that there are and have been numerous races without G.o.ds and without words to express the idea. The question, he says, is "wholly distinct from that higher one, whether there exists a Creator and Ruler of the universe; and this has been answered in the affirmative by the highest intellects that have ever lived." The fact of races existing without a belief in a G.o.d is shown to be compatible with the origin of religious ideas from attempts to explain external phenomena and man's own existence, by attributing to other objects and agencies a similar spirit to that which his consciousness testifies to in himself.

Man's social qualities, as well as those of animals, Darwin regards as having been developed for the general good of the community, which he defines as "the means by which the greatest possible number of individuals can be reared in full vigour and health, with all their faculties perfect, under the conditions to which they are exposed." This may be regarded as a more satisfactory expression of the idea underlying the phrase, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." Sympathy for animals he notes as one of the later acquisitions of mankind, and remarks that he found the very idea of humanity a novelty to the Gauchos of the Pampas. "The highest stage in moral culture at which we can arrive is when we recognise that we ought to control our thoughts....

Whatever makes any bad action familiar to the mind, renders its performance so much the easier"--a significant expression for those who would compare the teachings of Darwinism with those of Christianity.

Finally, he concludes that the difference in mind between man and the higher animals is one of degree, not of kind. "At what age does the new-born infant possess the power of abstraction, or become self-conscious and reflect on its own existence? We cannot answer; nor can we answer in regard to the ascending organic scale." Yet that man's mental and moral faculties may have been gradually evolved "ought not to be denied, when we daily see their development in every infant; and when we may trace a perfect gradation from the mind of an utter idiot, lower than that of the lowest animal, to the mind of a Newton."

The action of natural selection on the variations known to occur in man, is next shown to be sufficient to account for his rise from a lowly condition. Perhaps it is in discussing the development of the intellectual and moral faculties that Darwin is least successful; more knowledge of psychology than he possessed is demanded for this discussion. He gives up the problem of the first advance of savages towards civilisation as "at present much too difficult to be solved."

He, however, vigorously contests the idea that man was at first civilised and afterwards degenerated; and expresses the opinion that the "highest form of religion--the grand idea of G.o.d hating sin and loving righteousness--was unknown during primeval times." Finally, after discussing the steps in the genealogy of man, he comes to the conclusion that from the old-world monkeys, at a remote period, proceeded man, "the wonder and glory of the universe." The early progenitors of man he believes to have been covered with hair, both s.e.xes having had beards; their ears were pointed and capable of movement; their bodies were provided with a tail, and the foot was probably prehensile. Our primitive ancestors lived chiefly in trees in some warm forest-clad land, and the males were provided with formidable weapons in the shape of great canine teeth.

"Thus," says Darwin, "we have given to man a pedigree of prodigious length, but not, it may be said, of n.o.ble quality. The world, it has been often remarked, appears as if it had long been preparing for the advent of man; and this, in one sense, is strictly true, for he owes his birth to a long line of progenitors. If any single link in this chain had never existed, man would not have been exactly what he now is.

Unless we wilfully close our eyes, we may, with our present knowledge, approximately recognize our parentage; nor need we feel ashamed of it.

The most humble organism is something much higher than the inorganic dust under our feet; and no one with an unbia.s.sed mind can study any living creature, however humble, without being struck with enthusiasm at its marvellous structure and properties."

In considering the formation and perpetuation of the races of mankind, Darwin was again and again baffled. He could not decide that any of the physical differences between the races are of direct and special service to him, thus giving opportunity to natural selection to work. Hence he was led to study in detail the effects of s.e.xual selection, especially as applicable to man. The greater part of "The Descent of Man" is occupied with tracing out what may be called the history of courts.h.i.+p in man and animals. The great variety of interesting subjects dealt with cannot be detailed here. We must only notice a few points about mankind which are of special importance.

Darwin concludes that man's predominance over woman in size, strength, courage, pugnacity, and even energy was acquired in primeval times, and that these advantages have been subsequently augmented chiefly through the contests between men for women. Even man's intellectual vigour and inventiveness are probably due to natural selection, combined with inherited effects of habit, for the most able men will have succeeded best in defending and providing for their wives and offspring. Beards, beardlessness, voice, beauty are all related to s.e.xual charm, and have been selectively developed. Early man, less licentious, not practising infanticide, was in several respects better calculated to carry out s.e.xual selection than he is now; and thus we find the various races of men fully differentiated at the earliest date of historic records.

Incidentally Darwin gives us his views on the mental differences between man and woman. Woman is more tender and less selfish than man, whose ambition "pa.s.ses too easily into selfishness," which latter qualities "seem to be his natural and unfortunate birthright." Woman's powers of intuition, of rapid perception, and perhaps of imitation, are more strongly marked than in man. Yet the chief pre-eminence of man he considers to consist in attaining greater success in any given line than woman, by reason of greater energy, patience, &c. "In order that woman should reach the same standard as man, she ought, when nearly adult, to be trained to energy and perseverance, and to have her reason and imagination exercised to the highest point, and then she would probably transmit these qualities chiefly to her adult daughters." Here we have a plan of women's higher education according to the great evolutionist, although he does not a.s.sert that it is the essential and desirable one; but given a certain object, here is the best method of securing it. "The whole body of women, however, could not be thus raised, unless during many generations the women who excelled in the above robust virtues were married, and produced offspring in larger numbers than other women."

The doctrine that man is descended from some less highly organised form, Darwin a.s.serts in his concluding chapter, rests on grounds which will never be shaken--namely, the similar structure and course of development of embryos of the higher animals, and vast numbers of facts of structure and const.i.tution, rudimental structures, and abnormal reversions. The mental powers of the higher animals graduate into those of man.

Language, and the use of tools, made man dominant. The brain then immensely developed, and morality sprang from the social instinct.

Comparing and approving certain actions and disapproving others, remembering and looking back, he became conscientious and imaginative.

Sympathy, arising in the desire to give aid to one's fellows, was strengthened by praise and blame, and conduces to happiness. "As happiness is an essential part of the general good, the greatest happiness principle indirectly serves as a nearly safe standard of right and wrong.... But with the less civilised nations reason often errs, and many bad customs and base superst.i.tions come within the same scope, and consequently are esteemed as high virtues and their breach as heavy crimes."

The belief in G.o.d, the author says, is not innate or intuitive in man, but only arises after long culture. As to the bearing of the evolution theory on the immortality of the soul, Darwin thinks few people will find cause for anxiety in the impossibility of determining at what period in the ascending scale man became an immortal being. "The birth, both of the species and of the individual, are equally parts of that grand sequence of events, which our minds refuse to accept as the result of blind chance. The understanding revolts at such a conclusion."

The bearing of the Darwinian doctrine on some important practical questions for society leads to the remark that, while man scans with scrupulous care the pedigree of his animals, when he comes to his own marriage he rarely or never takes any such care. Perhaps Darwin was somewhat in error here; and, also, he seems to have underrated the unconscious tendency to act according to natural law, which has no doubt influenced mankind largely. He lays down the principle that both s.e.xes ought to refrain from marriage if markedly inferior in body or mind, or if they cannot avoid abject poverty for their children. When the laws of inheritance are thoroughly known, he says, we shall not hear ignorant members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan for ascertaining, by an easy method, whether or not consanguineous marriages are injurious to man. But Darwin is by no means in favour of any restriction on man's natural rate of increase; for it is the greatest means of preventing indolence from causing the race to become stagnant or to degenerate.

Only, there should be open compet.i.tion for all men; and the most able should not be prevented by laws or customs from succeeding best and rearing the largest number of offspring.

In summing up on the entire subject, Darwin expresses himself with more than his wonted vigour and point. On the one hand, he endeavours to disarm opposition by quoting heroic monkeys as contrasted with degraded barbarians; on the other hand, he welcomes the elevation of man so far above his barbarous ancestors. Finally, he takes his stand upon truth, as against likes and dislikes. "The astonishment which I felt on first seeing a party of Fuegians on a wild and broken sh.o.r.e will never be forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my mind--such were our ancestors. These men were absolutely naked and bedaubed with paint; their long hair was tangled, their mouths frothed with excitement, and their expression was wild, startled, and distrustful.

They possessed hardly any arts, and, like wild animals, lived on what they could catch. They had no government, and were merciless to every one not of their own small tribe. He who has seen a savage in his native land will not feel much shame, if forced to acknowledge that the blood of some more humble creature flows in his veins. For my own part, I would as soon be descended from that heroic little monkey, who braved his dreaded enemy in order to save the life of his keeper; or from that old baboon, who, descending from the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs--as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up b.l.o.o.d.y sacrifices, practises infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superst.i.tions.

"Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus risen, instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give him hopes for a still higher destiny in the distant future. But we are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth as far as our reason allows us to discover it. I have given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man, with all his n.o.ble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men, but to the humblest living creature, with his G.o.d-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and const.i.tution of the solar system--with all these exalted powers--Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin."

The reception accorded to "The Descent of Man" was more excited than that of "The Origin of Species." The first large edition was quickly exhausted, and discussion or ridicule of the book was the fas.h.i.+onable recreation. _Mr. Punch_, week after week, reflected pa.s.sing opinion. One of his Darwinian ballads on our ancestors is worth quoting from:--

"They slept in a wood, Or wherever they could, For they didn't know how to make beds; They hadn't got huts, They dined upon nuts, Which they cracked upon each other's heads.

They hadn't much scope For a comb, brush, or soap, Or towels, or kettle, or fire; They had no coats nor capes, For ne'er did these apes Invent what they didn't require.

From these though descended, Our manners are mended, Though still we can grin and backbite; We cut up each other, Be he friend or brother, And tails are the fas.h.i.+on--at night.

This origination Is all speculation-- We gamble in various shapes; So Mr. Darwin May speculate in Our ancestors having been apes."

_The Athenaeum_ was unbelieving, but not denunciatory. _The Edinburgh Review_ declared the doctrine of natural selection hopelessly inadequate to explain the phenomena of man's body; although its truth and falsehood had no necessary connection with the general theory of evolution: some law as yet unknown being looked for. Darwin's attempt to explain the evolution of mind and the moral sense is regarded as failing in every point. "Never, perhaps, in the history of philosophy, have such wide generalisations been derived from such a small basis of fact." _The Quarterly Review_ now acknowledged that "the survival of the fittest"

was a truth which readily presented itself to any one considering the subject, and that to Darwin was due the credit of having first brought it forward and demonstrated its truth, and a.s.serted that the destruction of the least fit was recognised thousands of years ago. But, in regard to the descent of man, it fastens specially upon the author's theory of mental and moral evolution, and declares that he has utterly failed.

_The Sat.u.r.day Review_, however, admitted the high antiquity of man, and the nearness of his bodily structure to the apes, and went much further.

In discussing the evolution of morals, the author's unexampled grasp of facts, with his power of correlation, is, according to _The Sat.u.r.day_, seen at its highest, in an exquisite chain of philosophical deduction.

The mode in which, at a remote period, the races of mankind became differentiated, is declared to be the weak point in the argument.